Slip on those 3-D glasses again, boils and ghouls, as we present....
HORROR-WOOD, USA (AP) Rumors that the 1950's pin-up cult queen Bettie Mae Page made a secret screen test in Hollywood at the behest of unknown studio bosses were further inflamed by today's discovery of apparent photographic proof.
According to a studio source only known as "Deep Gill," Universal-International was in search for a "fresh new face" to star in its new 3-D monster feature, Creature From the Black Lagoon, in 1954. The studios heads at Universal sent out a general casting call, netting hundreds of starlets for the female lead in the new monster film. Then a casting director brought in an armful of "men's" magazines--all featuring a curvaceous brunette model named Bettie Page.
"She really knocked their socks off," according to "Deep Gill" who claims to have been present. "The honchos thought she'd be perfect opposite the Gill Man. It'd be a double bonus--introducing a new monster and a new starlet at one time."
|
The alleged screen test photo of Bettie Page for Creature From The Black Lagoon in 3-D. |
So, according to "Deep Gill," studio talent scouts tracked Ms Page to a burlesque show she was appearing in in Las Vegas. She was rushed to Hollywood and, still wearing her burlesque costume, immediately posed with actor and stuntman Riccou Browning in the Gill Man "suit." The resulting test photos were thought to be all destroyed by Universal-International. However, one seems to have survived. (Since the film, originally entitled Black Lagoon, was shot in 3-D, the Bettie Page-Gill Man photo was also rendered in 3-D.)
Although the photos were well received, trouble soon arrived in the form of a burlesque theater operator who let Universal-International know that Ms Page had posed for nude and bondage-fetish photos which were widely circulated. "The studio chiefs couldn't abide that," explained "Deep Gill," with a shrug. "It was the Fifties, remember."
As a result, Ms Page was dropped, and her test photos were presumably destroyed. At length, Universal-International contract actress Julie Adams was chosen to play opposite the "Creature." And, presumably, Ms Page left Hollywood a bit sadder but wiser.
Is the story true? Is the photo authentic? "Deep Gill" claims it is, but adds, "Nobody (at Universal) is going to admit nothing. I'm retired and I don't want no trouble. By the way, did you know that the Gill Man was really a robot...?"
